Everything you need to know about the European Cross Country Champs in Brussels on Sunday December 10

The last time the European Cross Country Championships was held in Laeken Park in Brussels, Sergiy Lebid was still in his pomp as the Ukrainian surged away from Mo Farah in the final 500m to win the eighth of a record-breaking nine titles.

Helped by a remarkable under-20 womens race that saw Brits sweep the top six places, the GB squad topped the medals table. It confirmed their status as cross-country kings and queens of Europe and a strong British team will be aiming to uphold the tradition on Sunday (Dec 10) when the Euro Cross returns to Laeken Park in the Belgian capital.

Megan Keith and Innes FitzGerald are strong British hopes in the under-23 and under-20 womens races respectively. Indeed, they will be favourites to strike individual gold in those events.

Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway defends her title in the senior womens race with last years under-23 champion Nadia Battocletti of Italy stepping up to take her on.

There will be new champions in the senior and under-23 mens races as Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Charles Hicks, winners in Italy 12 months ago, are both absent this time. Isaac Kimeli from Belgium is the man to beat in the senior mens race and he will be boosted by home support, while the 2022 under-20 champion Will Barnicoat will be among the under-23 contenders.

Niels Laros, meanwhile, will be tough to beat in the under-20 mens race following his spectacular track season. The course will especially suit him if it remains relatively dry as it was in 2008 although rain is forecast to fall in coming days and Belgium courses are known for being boggy. The course in 2008 was also very twisty in places.

The event will be live streamed here while BBC is also showing the races on its red button and website with a highlights show on BBC2 at 5pm Sunday.

Timetable (local times)
12:25 U20 women (5000m)
12:50 U20 men (5000m)
13:10 Mixed relay (4x1500m)
13:35 U23 women (7000m)
14:05 U23 men (7000m)
14:35 Senior women (9000m)
15:15 Senior men (9000m)

Senior women

After winning the under-20 title in 2009, Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal captured senior crowns in 2021 and 2022, which means she is going for a hat-trick in Brussels. The 33-year-old from Norway has also won a record-breaking nine individual medals at the Euro Cross and her many achievements include breaking Ingrid Kristiansens long-standing national 5000m record by six seconds in 2021 with 14:31.07.

Last year in Turin she beat Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany in a thrilling duel. Germanys Alina Reh, Hannah Klein and Miriam Dattke finished third, fourth and sixth respectively 12 months ago, too, but none of them are in the German team this weekend.

Grøvdals biggest rival could be Nadia Battocletti, the Italian who won the under-23 title in 2021 and last year on home soil despite having been on antibiotics due to illness in the run-up to the championships.

Further contenders include Veerle Bakker of Netherlands and Sarah Lahti of Sweden, while the Spanish team includes Marta Pérez and Marta García.

Last year Jess Warner-Judd and Abbie Donnelly led the Brits home in eighth and ninth to win team silver behind the Germans and they once again spearhead a strong GB team.

One of the stories of the day, however, is likely to belong to Fionnuala McCormack. The mother-of-three ran 2:26.19 in the Valencia Marathon on Sunday to qualify for her fifth Olympics for Ireland. At the Euro Cross she won senior womens titles in 2011 and 2012 as well and the 39-year-old is making her 18th appearance at the championships this weekend.

GB team: Niamh Bridson Hubbard; Abbie Donnelly; Izzy Fry; Amelia Quirk; Poppy Tank; Jessica Warner-Judd

Senior men

There will at least be one Ingebrigtsen in Brussels this weekend Henrik as opposed to brother Jakob. Back in 2012 he won the European under-23 title on an icy, snow-covered course on the outskirts of Budapest but now, aged 32, he is not the force he once was after several years of battling injuries.

Favourite for the title is Isaac Kimeli of Belgium. The 29-year-old was born in Kenya but moved to Belgium when he was 15.

He won senior silver at the Euro Cross in 2018 and then bronze behind Ingebrigtsen and Britains Emile Cairess 12 months ago in Turin. In addition, he won the under-23 title in Chia in 2016 and has finished 10th and 13th in the last two world 10,000m finals.

Yeman Crippa is another gold medal contender. The 27-year-old Italian finished fourth in last years senior mens race one place behind Kimeli and is the reigning European 10,000m champion.

Crippa is part of a good Italian team that includes Yassin Bouih and national marathon record-holder Iliass Aouani. Spanish runners are also likely to be in the mix with Abdessamad Oukhelfen, Fernando Carro, Ouassim Oumaiz and Aarón Las Heras the latter of whom was first European (in 22nd) in the World Cross mens race in Bathurst in February.

When the Euro Cross was first held in Belgium, in Charleroi in 1996, Jon Brown churned through the mud to win gold for Britain. This time the GB trials winner Hugo Milner will be leading the charge with last years under-23 silver medallist Zak Mahamed expected to improve on his sixth place at the trials.

GB team: Callum Elson; Calum Johnson; Zak Mahamed; Alfie Manthorpe; Angus McMillan; Hugo Milner

Under-23 women

After finishing runner-up to Nadia Battocletti in this age group 12 months ago, Megan Keith will start in Turin as favourite for gold. The Scottish athlete has been in tremendous form this year with European under-23 gold over 5000m in Espoo in the summer followed by a big 5000m PB of 14:56.98 at the London Diamond League which earned her selection for the World Champs in Budapest. She then began her winter campaign in style with convincing wins at the British Athletics Cross Challenge races in Cardiff and Liverpool.

Indeed, Keiths 53-second victory in Liverpool is the biggest winning margin in a senior Euro trials race since the advent of the championships in the 1990s. Even Paula Radcliffe didnt win the GB trials by quite so much during the peak of her career.

In Brussels, Keith will hope to follow in the steps of previous Brits to win this title, including Emma Pallant, Jess Piasecki and Rhona Auckland, whereas former winners of this under-23 crown also include Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.

So who will challenge Keith in Brussels? Maria Forero, the under-20 champion last year, moves into the under-23 age group. The Spaniard also won silver behind Keith in the European under-23 5000m this summer and will be joined in her team by Marta Serrano, the European under-23 steeplechase champion.

Amina Maatoug of the Netherlands was fourth last year and is set to race again this weekend. Sara Nestola and Aurora Baddo of Italy won European under-23 10,000m silver and bronze behind Britains Alice Goodall in the summer are part of a strong Italian team here. There is also Ilona Mononen of Finland, the under-20 bronze medallist last year, together with Greta Karinauskaite of Lithuania.

Finally, Alex Millard won bronze for Britain behind Battocletti and Keith 12 months ago. She was fifth (and second under-23) at the trials last month but will be looking to make the podium again in Brussels.

GB team: Megan Keith; Olivia Mason; Lynn McKenna; Alexandra Millard; Eloise Walker; Tia Wilson

Under-23 men

Last year the Brits dominated with Charles Hicks and Zak Mahamed finishing one-two. So could we see a similar result this weekend but simply with different athletes this time due to Hicks remaining in the United States and Mahamed moving to the senior age group?

Will Barnicoat won the under-20 gold last year in dramatic style and will be aiming to make his mark in the new age group. However there were several runners ahead of him in the GB trials in Liverpool last month.

Matt Stonier used his 3:31.30 1500m speed to snatch second place at those trials behind overall winner Hugo Milner at the trials, so he will go into Brussels as the No.1 British hope in the under-23 race. Rory Leonard wasnt far behind, though. Leonard knows how to win titles as well as he claimed the European under-23 10,000m crown in the summer.

READ MORE: GB trials coverage from Liverpool

Joel Ibler Lillesø won the European under-20 5000m title and Euro Cross under-20 bronze in 2021 and the Danish runner is part of Niels Laros training group. The 20-year-old has also got stuck into the mud this winter, finishing 15th for example against strong senior opposition at the Cardiff Cross Challenge last month.

Look out for the Spanish, too, with European under-23 champion at the 3000m steeplechase, Alejandro Quijada, joined by Miguel Baidal, Àdam Maijó and Jaime Migallón.

GB team: Will Barnicoat; Matt Stonier; James Kingston; Rory Leonard; Henry McLuckie; Tomer Tarragano

Under-20 women

While cross-country fans in the United States are full of Valbymania, the British scene has a mild dose of FitzGerald-fever due to the incredible performances of 17-year-old Innes FitzGerald lately.

After getting into her stride this winter at the national road relays with her mentor and clubmate Jo Pavey (the five-time Olympian and senior bronze medallist at the 2004 Euro Cross), FitzGerald demolished her teenage rivals by almost a minute at the Cardiff Cross Challenge last month before winning the GB trial at Sefton Park by half a minute.

The Exeter Harrier has attracted media attention due to her reluctance to fly to events, but the journey to Brussels is easily achievable by train. She will probably set off sooner than last year, too, as she arrived in Italy feeling tired and after charging off a little too exuberantly she had to settle for fourth as gold went to the much older Maria Forero of Spain.

None of the athletes ahead of FitzGerald in 2022 are in the under-20 race in Brussels, though. With an extra year of experience, too, she looks a good bet to follow in the footsteps of past British winners of this title Steph Twell, Charlie Purdue, Charlotte Dale, Emelia Gorecka, Harriet Knowles-Jones and Megan Keith.

Backed up by runners such as trials runner-up and 2022 world mountain running gold medallist Jess Bailey, Britain will be aiming to win team gold in this race for a remarkable 17th time too.

Kira Weis of Germany, who won European under-20 5000m silver this summer, will be one of the main contenders. Look out too for Sofia Thøgersen of Denmark, the European under-20 silver medallist at 1500m and bronze medallist at 5000m this year.

Dilek Koçak, the European under-20 1500m champion, leads Turkish hopes along with Edibe Yagiz and she will be dangerous if she manages to stick with FitzGeralds expected fierce pace. With Forero moving up to the under-23 age group, Spain is led by María Viciosa.

One notable absentee is Agate Caune, the European 3000m and 5000m champion from Latvia.

GB team: Jess Bailey; Innes FitzGerald; Zoe Hunter; Moli Lyons; Katie Pye; Lizzie Wellsted

Under-20 men

Its hard to look beyond Niels Laros after the Dutchmans tremendous year so far which included a Dutch senior 1500m record of 3:31.25 in Budapest when placing 10th in the world final plus national records in the mile (3:48.93) and 2000m (4:49.68) in addition to a 1500m and 5000m double at the European Under-20 Championships.

Anything can happen, though, as we found out last year when favourite Nick Griggs of Ireland looked set for gold, only to stumble inexplicably in the home straight as Will Barnicoat pounced to win gold.

Laros was also due to run last year, too, but was a race-week withdrawal due to illness. If Laros makes the start line this week and wins he will be following in the footsteps of Gert-Jan Liefers, who won the under-20 title for the Netherlands in 1997 and held the Dutch 1500m record until Laros beat it this year.

Griggs, who turns 19 a few days after the championships, is set to run again. Look out too for Axel Vang Christensen from Denmark, the 2021 winner in Dublin who is still only 19, plus Spanish steeplechase specialist Sergio Del Barrio.

British hopes are led by Henry Dover, who won the trials impressively on a course that might end up being very similar to the Belgian terrain.

GB team: Henry Dover; Sam Hodgson; Andrew McGill; Rowan Miell-Ingram; Sam Mills; Louis Small

Mixed relay

In the brief history of this event, Britain has won gold three times, Spain once and Italy took the title on home soil 12 months ago after a dramatic finishing effort by Gaia Sabbatini.

Sabbatini is part of the Italian team again along with Pietro Arese as they try to defend their title. Belgium, meanwhile, look good on paper with 2021 European indoor 1500m champion Elise Vanderelst and 2021 European under-23 1500m champion Ruben Verheyden.

The British team features comeback king Josh Lay and womens trials winner Beth Morley.

GB team: Adam Fogg; Joshua Lay; Khahisa Mhlanga; Bethan Morley